You Won’t Believe Why This Passenger Was Kicked Off a Flight
Can you get kicked off a plane for bumping into someone in a revolving door? Apparently, you can. (Photo: iStock)
Just add this to the list of things that can get you kicked off of a plane.
A lawyer from Texas was prevented from boarding a Virgin America flight after bumping into a crew member while going through a revolving door.
According to Robert B. Abtahi, he was at LaGuardia airport in New York City when he attempted to board Flight 885 to Dallas, Texas. However, when he got to the gate, he was turned away.
Confused, Abtahi asked for a reason, and was told that the captain and crew didn’t feel comfortable with him on the flight. Upon further questioning, Abtahi was told that earlier in the evening, he had cut off a crew member while going through a revolving door – and therefore would not be allowed to board.
Abtahi told the Dallas Morning News that he remembered a woman squeezing behind him into the same revolving door partition to get into the airport, and they both fumbled to get out. He didn’t know she was an airline employee, and didn’t think anything of it until he was not allowed to board.
Despite trying to apologize for the mishap, Abtahi was forced to cancel his ticket (without penalty) and book a flight on American Airlines.
Related: Dirty Secrets of Flying: What the Airlines Don’t Tell You
Robert Abtahi (Photo: Robert Abtahi/Dallas City Council)
This might sound like an isolated incident, but according to aviation expert Joe Brancatelli, cabin crews have almost total authority to do what they want. “If you don’t do what they want, they will put you off the flight and maybe even call law enforcement to have you detained and arrested,” he said.
Even so, we trust our airline crews to do the right thing, but there is always a bad egg. “On those few occasions when an individual crew member gets a bug up his or her nose, well, the system is easy to abuse. And passengers are always the ones who are abused,” Brancatelli tells Yahoo Travel.
As a lawyer, Abtahi is well aware of the rights airlines have, and now wants to tighten the policies that give cabin crews the final say on whether a passenger is allowed to board.
“I have PreCheck and Global Entry and I’m not acting crazy; I haven’t been drinking. I’m just standing,” Abtahi told the New York Times.
Abtahi is Iranian-American, and said that he hopes race didn’t have anything to do with the misunderstanding, but can’t totally rule it out. “The thought did cross my mind since I haven’t shaved in five days and my hair is a mess. I’ve been on a beach for five days,” he said. “You always think about it.”
Related: Airline Apologizes for Stopping Wounded Vet With Service Dog From Boarding
Since Abtahi made his story public, Virgin America has confirmed that the events unfolded just as he described. They’ve categorized the incident as “the result of a misunderstanding,” and have apologized to Abtahi.
“As an airline that prides itself on our award-winning guest service, we take issues like this very seriously,” David Arnold, a spokesman for Virgin America, told the Dallas Morning News. “We are sorry Mr. Abtahi had this experience today, as it was not representative of the guest service for which we are known.”
In an effort to smooth things over, Virgin America reimbursed Abtahi for the cost of the flight, and gave him two free flights in the future.
Abtahi has accepted the apology and directed Virgin to give the free flights to the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, a Dallas charity that helps refugees fleeing abuse.
Robert Abtahi is the vice chairman of the Dallas Plan Commission, the official body that makes planning and zoning recommendations the City Council.
WATCH: The 7 Stages of Getting Kicked Off a Flight
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